Rocco Baldelli | Outfielder

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Rocco Baldelli is expected to announce his retirement on Wednesday and accept a role in the Rays' front office.

"I don't anticipate ever playing baseball again. I'm retired. The paperwork will be filed," Baldelli said Tuesday. "And you know what. The only time I feel like it's good to retire is when you're happy to retire. And I'm happy." The 29-year-old Baldelli made a comeback last season and even homered in his first at-bat back with the Rays, but was eventually taken off the ALDS roster due to leg fatigue. The former 2000 first-round pick calls it a career with a .278/.323/.443 career batting line and 531 hits. It's a shame that injuries and illness had to snuff out what once looked like a promising career. Wed, Jan 26, 2011 08:34:00 AM

Rocco Baldelli has been taken off the Rays' ALDS roster due to left leg fatigue.

As noted by Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse, the team says leg fatigue is a symptom of his mitochondrial disorder. Because Baldelli was taken off the roster, he is now ineligible should the Rays reach the ALCS. Willy Aybar will take his place on the roster and will be the DH in Game 2 Thursday against C.J. Wilson. Thu, Oct 7, 2010 12:10:00 PM

Rocco Baldelli has been awarded a spot on the Rays' roster for the ALDS.

Rays manager Joe Maddon ultimately opted for Baldelli as an extra right-handed bat over Willy Aybar. He'll be the DH in Game 1. The 29-year-old outfielder batted .208 with one home run and five RBI after joining the team in September. Wed, Oct 6, 2010 10:04:00 AM

Rocco Baldelli delivered one of the Rays' four homers on Sunday, but the Orioles still won the contest 8-7.

Baldelli was afforded a place on the bench when rosters expanded on September 1. Today he stepped to the plate for the first time all year in the majors and delivered a pinch-hit, two-run blast to make it an 8-7 game. The Rays lost anyway, but it was a fun story nonetheless. B.J. Upton, Evan Longoria, and Ben Zobrist also homered in the contest for the Rays. Sun, Sep 5, 2010 05:29:00 PM

Depth Charts

Desmond Jennings (knee) began a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham on Friday, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

He also drew a pair of walks in the contest. Jennings is working his way back from arthroscopic knee surgery and is expected to rejoin the Rays in early August. If all goes well in his first few rehab games, expect to see him with the big league club next weekend.

Rays placed OF Steven Souza on the 15-disabled list with a fractured left hand.

Souza left Saturday's game after getting hit by a pitch from Joe Kelly. It didn't look good and his X-rays confirmed the worst. The 26-year-old has shown above power this season with 15 homers in 308 at-bats. Brandon Guyer and Grady Sizemore should see more playing time in his absence. The Rays are probably wishing they had kept David DeJesus, who was traded to the Angels earlier this week.

Drew Smyly was hit hard in his first minor league rehab start with Triple-A Durham on Sunday, allowing four runs on three hits over 2 1/3 innings.

Smyly also issued a pair of walks in the contest while striking out three. The good news is that he made it through the start without any issues physically. He'll need at least another 2-3 starts to build up his stamina before he's an option to rejoin the Rays rotation.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said that everything went well. Cobb's season is over and he'll likely be sidelined until around midseason next year. The Rays were counting on big things out of Cobb and Drew Smyly this season, so they are really going to be missed.